How long are horses pregnant
The period of pregnancy of a female horse, or what is known as a mare, depends on many factors, including : the breed to which she belongs, her physical condition, the season of occurrence of pregnancy, the sex of the foal, and in general the mare's pregnancy period usually extends between 335-342 days, however Pregnancy may not exceed in some cases a period of only 320 days, but it can extend to 367 days in other cases, and it should be noted that the birth that occurs before the passage of 320 days after pregnancy is seen as premature labor requires placing the newborn foal under special veterinary care to keep it Alive. The mare usually gives birth in the spring, when there is an abundance of grass that depends on it as a source of food, in addition to that the climate during this period is suitable for the development and growth of the foal, and childbirth often occurs during the night or in the early morning hours, where these times are calm. The indication that the mare can postpone the due date if she feels there is a threat to her or her young life.
Read : How much does a horse weigh
Stages of mare embryo development :
It shows what comes the stages of development of the mare embryo, or what is known as the foal, and the most important changes that occur to it during its pregnancy :
Days 1-6: The fertilized egg develops inside the oviduct, resulting in two types of cells: the inner cell mass from which the embryo will later form, and the outer cell mass called the trophoblast responsible for forming part of the placenta.
Days 6-16: The embryo moves to the womb on about the sixth day, and remains in a state of movement around it until it stabilizes in its place on the sixteenth day, after which the embryo loses its spherical shape.
Days 22-25: The baby's heart begins to beat, and the foal begins to attach to the uterine wall.
Days 35-40: The fetus is attached to the uterine wall between day 36-38 of pregnancy, after which the endometrium cup is formed, which secretes the equine chorionic gonadotropin, which contributes to the production of the corpus luteum to help maintain the pregnancy.
Day 80: A fetus fills with the horns of the uterus.
Days 100-140: The endometrial cup disappears.
Days 150-180: The placenta takes over the task of maintaining the pregnancy, and the estrogen concentration increases as the luteal concentration decreases.
Phases of mare birth :
A mare goes through three stages during the birth of a foal :
The prenatal stage : This stage takes between 1-6 hours, which is the stage that begins with the gradual relaxation of the cervix, followed by the occurrence of contractions of the uterus to push the fetus, placenta, and fluids towards the cervix, then expand the cervix, to end with the exit of water. Signs that appear on the mare at this stage: Drip of milk. Frequent urination. Repeated stretching and lying down. Persians looked at the loin area.
The stage of childbirth : the birth canal expands after about ten minutes after the exit of the uterine water, and as a result of the movement of the mare and its effort to pressure, the legs of the fetus also begin to appear, after that the head also appears, and the phase of the exit of the head takes a longer period than usual in the mare that gives birth for the first time, After that, the chest area of the fetus begins to exit, which is the widest area in the body of the foal, and therefore the mare needs to make more effort to remove it from the birth canal at that time, and to facilitate this stage, one foot of the fetus must be in front of the other in order to reduce the width of the shoulders, and with the passage of the chest the bag ruptures The amniotic cavity so that the foal can breathe, and in the event that the bag does not rupture on its own, the horse breeder must do so, and the birth stage ends with the separation of the umbilical cord from the foal.
The stage of the exit of the placenta : The placenta often comes out of the womb of the mare within the first hour of birth, and it is preferable to keep it for some tests to be carried out in order to ensure that there are no signs of infection. The Persians Epidemic Cycle The estrus or heat cycle is defined as the period during which ovulation occurs, and therefore mating can lead to pregnancy, and the whirlwind cycle usually lasts six days, and it repeats approximately every 21 days in the mating season, which is during the spring or Summer, and among the signs that appear on the mare during the oozing cycle: anxiety, lack of appetite, and excessive movement, It is worth noting that ovulation occurs again approximately ten days after birth, but it may occur in some cases seven or eight after birth Days, or it may be delayed to 14-15 days, and the chances of conception increase if ovulation occurs ten or more days after birth.
How many months are horses pregnant ?
Before answering the question of how long a mare has been pregnant, it is imperative to mention information on how to reproduce . Where horses are distinguished by their seasonal cycle; That is, they mate during certain months of the year only, which prepares their reproduction in the appropriate months for survival, and during this period the horses meet every 3 weeks for a period ranging from 3 to 5 days, and the meeting period coincides with the ovulation period of female horses, which is what Helps complete the fertilization process, As for the direct answer to the question "How long are horses pregnant ?" They are 11 months old; Where females horses give new births after the completion of 11 months of pregnancy, and the mares become able to stand after a short period of birth and becomes adult between the age of three years to five years, and the birth of a male horse is removed from the herd by the horse stallion when it becomes old Two years; Horses expel the young males and huddle together until they find two herds of female horses to lead them.
Caring for a mare during pregnancy
After answering the question "How long is a mare pregnant ?" It is imperative to know the correct way to care for the mare during pregnancy, and although the steps to take care of the mare during this period may be difficult, it is very important, and here are the steps that must be followed to preserve and care for the mare during pregnancy :
Habitat of the Persians
It is preferable to place the pregnant mare in a place far from other horses, as it is preferable to place it in a special stable so that it is protected from exposure to unintended injuries or diseases in addition to relieving pressure on it, and a large stable should be chosen that provides the required protection.
Persian food
It should be noted that the mare may experience a decrease in appetite due to pregnancy, and as the fetus becomes larger, the pregnant mare's appetite decreases due to the fetus’s filling of her abdomen, but the pregnant mare needs a large amount of nutrients at this time, so she must be fed frequent meals in small quantities, as she does not get the amount Sufficient food will lead to the withdrawal of nutrients from fat stores, muscles and bones, which will weaken them.
Activities
Knowing how long a mare has been pregnant is important to make sure it avoids the things that hurt it during it. The mare's activities should be reduced during the first 60 days of pregnancy; As there is a risk that the mare embryo will die or be absorbed during this period, and therefore the mare must be kept in a resting state, but after 60 days have passed, the mare may return to its normal activity.
Health care
The mare is exposed to worms a lot, which also affects the fetus, and the worms that the horse can be exposed to is controlled orally through the use of a syringe or mixing the drug with food, and it is also necessary to make sure that the EHV-1 vaccine is given on the ninety day of pregnancy or day number One hundred and fifty for the prevention of the herpes virus, and it must be ensured that vaccinations for encephalitis and tetanus have been introduced within the last three or six weeks.
How many babies can a horse have at one time ?
The pregnancy period of a female horse lasts 11 months, after which she gives birth to one foal in most cases, and she may give birth to twins sometimes, and triplets in other rare cases, and the little horse is able to stand on its legs after a short period of birth, and is weaned upon reaching the sixth month Of his age, then he is removed from the herd if he is a male when he reaches his second year.
The horse breeding system
The age of puberty or sexual maturity of horses varies depending on the gender, as the female horse or what is known as the mare usually reaches the stage of sexual maturity when she reaches the age of 12-15 months, and some mares may reach that between the ninth and tenth months, but her body becomes able to Pregnancy and birth of healthy foals when they reach the age of four, and a male horse will not be able to mate successfully until he is fifteen months old.
A male horse can mate throughout the year, but its activity increases during the mating season that extends from April to June. The female horse is described as polyestrous, meaning that it goes through several cycles during the mating season. And, the estrus cycle is known as the period in which ovulation occurs, and in this period the female is ready to mate with the male, and it is worth noting that the bleeding cycle may last between 2-10 days, but it is often 6 days, and it is repeated once Approximately every 19-26 days.
Followed by male horse multiple mating system, as the paired male dominant with many of the females during the mating season, but it is not paired with any female grew up with him in the herd itself, and it is worth mentioning that the season multiplication of horses experiencing Araka peppered with a lot of kicking between The dominant male and other males trying to mate with the females.
Behavior of horses during the mating season The signs that appear on mares during the bleeding cycle vary depending on the age of the mare, as the older and more experienced mares show clear signs, the most important of which are: anxiety, hyperactivity, and a lack of appetite for food, and at the height of the bleeding cycle, other symptoms such as: frequent urination And raising the tail, as for the behavior of the male horse during the mating season, it is represented by raising its nose up and curling its upper lip, and in addition to that, males may show other signs such as: anxiety, lack of patience, and hyperactivity, and some may resort to sniffing and biting the female as a form of courtship.
Small horse growth
The foal grows very quickly, as it completes 90% or more of its size during the first two years of its life, as it is possible to increase its weight on a daily basis by the equivalent of 1.36 kg, up to the weight of young horses about 54 kg, and their length is about 76 cm, and adopt this increase in weight and growth rate is primarily genetic, administrative, and environmental factors, in addition to nutrition, it is worth mentioning that it can control the growth of dowry attention through a balanced diet would influence the growth as required, but must Be sure to do this sparingly to prevent subsequent growth problems.
Feeding a small horse
The amount of milk produced by the mother decreases when the foal reaches its third month and starts the process of weaning, and between the fourth and sixth months the foal is completely weaned and begins to eat feed, and the weaned foal, whose weight ranges between 227-272 kilograms, needs to eat 2-3% of its body weight from Feed daily, and high-quality bran and grains must be chosen to be presented to the foals, and make sure to feed them a balanced diet that contains vitamins, minerals, and proteins, and foals need two to three small meals a day because their stomachs are small, and they must be avoided because foals are overweight are more susceptible to bone disease, it is also important to clean fresh water and provide throughout the day so that they are accessible to foals, it referred to as care of the importance of nutritionThe mare during the lactation period to be able to produce sufficient and nutritious milk for the foal, especially between the second to the third months of life, when the mother needs a food rich in energy, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
There are important criteria to follow when preparing a feeding program for foals, the most important of which is that the nutritional requirements of foals are considered somewhat high, and the smaller the foal, the more its nutritional requirements, and the digestive system of foals is relatively small, so they are unable to eat large quantities or poor quality food. Therefore, they must be provided with energy sources such as feed, grains and other foods that provide them with proteins, vitamins and minerals, and foods rich in protein useful for foals and the amino acid lysine, which plays an important role in the growth of foals. Soy, canola, alfalfa and powdered milk products.
Taking care of the baby horse The foal must be carefully taken care of and coordinate with a person specialized in horse breeding to make a comprehensive health plan centered on the health of the foal, and to organize the dates of vaccinations for it, with knowledge of the ways to get rid of worms, which differ from one region to another depending on environmental factors, and periodic examination must be followed to protect against diseases that may affect it. The importance of reducing the time that foals spend in the stables, so that they do not exceed ten hours per day, and provide sufficient space for daily physical exercise in moderation.
Little Horse Facts
The foal is born after a pregnancy period of approximately 11 months, and to find out more information about the pregnancy of a female horse, you can read the article How long a mare gets pregnant.
The foal is able to stand on its feet shortly after birth.
Foals live in a herd of 3-20 mare and foals, led by a stallion until they reach their second year, and then the stallion expels the male foals outside the herd to start wandering and looking for a herd of females that they can control and lead.
